Huge post, coming through...
********************************
Obi-Wan opened his eyes, but, as always, the world stayed just as dark. He felt Qui-Gon close by, but did not reach out. He knew his Master was there and was determined to stop being so clingy. He didn?t want Qui-Gon thinking he was a big baby. He was stronger than that. Even if he couldn?t be a Jedi, he could still be strong. He would always respect Qui-Gon, even when he could no longer be his pupil. That thought made Obi-Wan sad, but he tried to push it away so Qui-Gon would not feel his sorrow. There was something else Obi-Wan was feeling too, something he couldn?t quite put his finger on.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon shook his head. Knowing Obi-Wan was awake even before his eyes opened. "It seems I am forever finding myself at your bedside. Why do these things always seem to happen to you?" his voice was mild, almost playful.

Obi-Wan smiled dryly up at the ceiling. "I have no idea Master."

Qui-Gon?s brows knitted in concern. Obi-Wan responded cheerfully enough to him, but something was missing, something on a deeper level. "Obi-Wan," he reached out a warm tendril through the Force but received no answer. "Obi-Wan? Speak to me Obi-Wan," he strengthened and repeated the wave, becoming increasingly concerned by his apprentice?s lack of response.

That was unlike Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon was worried. He laid his right hand on Obi-Wan?s forehead, feeling the Padawan?s temperature. It was high, but not dangerously so. He feared that Obi-Wan was much more ill than they had thought, judging from his strange reaction.

"Do you feel all right Obi-Wan?" he inquired in concern.

"As all right as I can after being worked over by three large men with sledgehammers for fists," Obi-Wan moaned, sitting up and holding his head. "How did you get here?" Obi-Wan?s flushed face paled as he tried to sit. He thought his head was going to fall off. Then he wished it would. He hadn?t hurt quite this bad, or at least this way, since he?d been worked over by that heavy-handed Hutt on the way to Bandomeer when he was just twelve. Ironic, he grimaced. That beating had also been given under the assumption that he was a spy because he had been someplace he shouldn?t have been.

"That is a story for another time and place," Qui-Gon said, pressing two small, powdery, circular objects into Obi-Wan?s hand and then passing him a glass of water. "I have tried to help start your healing, but until we have time to get you into a proper trance, you might want to take these."

Obi-Wan gulped the pain-pills with a twinge of guilt. He shouldn?t rely on crutches like that, but Qui-Gon was right. He wasn?t about to get very far right now without them.

Qui-Gon patted Obi-Wan?s shoulder gently with his more mobile right hand. "We all need help from time to time," he reassured, feeling the Padawan?s hesitancy.

Obi-Wan slid off the bed slowly. He appreciated that Qui-Gon was trying to make him feel better, but it didn?t help really. It was just one more thing that brought home to him the reality that he could no longer be the only thing he had wanted all his life to be.

Qui-Gon could tell the boy was feeling badly, but given his condition that was not a surprise. He did not yet realize the depth of Obi-Wan?s discouragement. "I have something else for you," Qui-Gon said, sliding a cool metal cylinder into his Padawan?s hand. Obi-Wan recognized the familiar feel of his lightsaber. He smiled despite himself, curling his fingers tightly around the smooth handle. Qui-Gon nodded approvingly. It was good to see Obi-Wan smile. Administrator Owskar had tracked down and retrieved both lightsabers shortly after discovering that Qui-Gon was a Jedi.

"Is the boy ready Jinn?" Verjl asked, entering from the hall. "The ship leaves in an hour."

"I?m ready," Obi-Wan affirmed for himself. "Where are we going?"

"Away from Driosnia, which ought to make you happy," Verjl said. "And we won?t

Sheena watched Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon move away. Watched them until they turned into small, dark shapes, overhung by the sprawling visage of the hangar. She wondered where they were all going and why. Finding no answers, and knowing they were probably too dangerous to understand anyway, she turned to head back to the house.

Suddenly, an arm closed around her throat, holding her neck tightly in the crook of the elbow. "All right Danshe," a voice sneered the derogatory name for her people. "What did the kid say to you?"

Sheena recognized Brun?s voice. "N-nothing," she struggled to keep the quake of surprise out of her tone. "Just goodbye."

"Why did it take so long? And why is he suddenly going with? Hm? The kid is mighty close to that big aide, I?d say they knew each other all ready. How?" Brun demanded, tightening his arm until Sheena couldn?t breathe. "I don?t know, let me go, I?ve done nothing wrong," Sheena gasped, pulling desperately at Brun?s arm.

"Oh, but you spent a lot of time with the kid Sheena, you?re the one who brought the Administrator into it when he turned up in the restricted area. I find it difficult to believe that you learned nothing about him in all that time. Why not make this easier and tell me?"

"Let me go!" Sheena started struggling in earnest. "I know your voice Brun! You better not touch me or I?ll tell Master Owskar when he gets back!" she threatened with a bravado she did not feel. Brun had been warned more than once to leave her alone.

"Ah, that?s assuming he?s coming back. That?s something I?ve been wondering about. All his money?s been transferred off planet Danshe. Oh, not in any obvious way, but it?s gone."

Sheena knew Brun had to have been snooping about in the Administrators personal files to find that out. "So what? Maybe the rates are better," Sheena said dryly.

Brun laughed softly in her ear, but it was neither mirthful, nor pleasant. Dragging her back towards the house he pressed her against the wall on her stomach, releasing her throat and twisting her left arm behind her back. "You?re funny Sheena, but now is the time to be serious. Deadly serious. My Uncle is a traitor Danshe; the Krallnorn has been watching him for a long time. He?s up to something now, I know it. He must be stopped." Brun twisted her arm harder, until Sheena thought he would break it. She moaned in pain, trying to squirm away from him, but he was stronger than she was and he had the advantage. Sheena felt the cold muzzle of his blaster press against the base of her neck.

"I haven?t got time to play games. What did the boy say Sheena?" Brun demanded his voice chillingly cold.

"N-nothing, really," Sheena shook her head. "I-I asked him where they were going, and he said he couldn?t tell me," she knew she had to be careful what she said. She did not want to betray the Administrator and Obi-Wan, but she did not doubt that Brun would kill her if she failed to cooperate.

"That?s not good enough Danshe," Brun?s grip on her tightened. "Who is the boy, who is that new aide that Verjl keeps with him all the time? How do they know each other?"

"Please Brun, I don?t know," Sheena squirmed. Her arm burned and her heart was pounding a mile a minute. With the Administrator leaving for good, Brun could do whatever he wanted to her and there would be no one to stop him.

Brun struck her across the back of her head with his blaster. "That?s Mr. Owskar to you Danshe scum! Tell me, or I?ll leave you down at the guardhouse. Maybe after a few hours with them, your memory will become clearer," he threatened.

"I-I don?t know much, really," Sheena?s voice shook with terror that she could not hide. "K-Kenobi and Jinn knew each other in the camps, before they came here. The Administrator made Jinn his aide because he saved his life, I assume that?s why he took Kenobi as well, for Jinn?s sake," Sheena told the truth, just not all of it.

"I know that much," Brun snapped. "You?re not being helpful Danshe." He struck her again.

Sheena saw stars. Her head throbbed. Brun?s voice cut through her like a vibro-blade.

The two Jedi stiffened, alert and on guard, their hands straying automatically to the hilts of their lightsabers. Qui-Gon looked around, and Obi-Wan stretched out with his other senses.

"Sheena," they both said at the same time. Sheena was in trouble; something was wrong, very wrong.

"Obi-Wan, get to the ship, be sure that the Administrator is protected," Qui-Gon ordered as he moved swiftly off towards the source of the scream.

For a moment Obi-Wan hesitated, hating to be sent off to safety, hating to be useless. Then his mind kicked in and he realized that Qui-Gon had given him an assignment, not told him to hide. Hurrying toward the ship he met Verjl on the loading ramp.

"Duck!" Obi-Wan cried, sensing the shot before it came and pulling Verjl down with him. More shots whizzed at them from the cover of the ship parked on their left. Verjl started to crawl up the ramp towards the safety of the ship?s entry, but Obi-Wan grabbed his arm and shoved him off the side of the ramp instead, just as a fresh volley of shots exploded at them from inside the ship itself, scorching the spot on the ramp that they had occupied only moments earlier.

Obi-Wan and Verjl pressed their backs against the underside of the loading ramp, momentarily hidden in the shadows. Obi-Wan knew it wouldn?t take long before their attackers figured out where they went. This ramp would not provide much protection against a direct assault.

"Looks as if they are on to me," Verjl shook his head. Failure making his heart sink like a lead balloon. "I never expected them to be able to strike so swiftly, at such short notice. I have failed," he said with resigned misery.

Obi-Wan was trying to think fast. "Not yet," he shook his head. They had to do something, but what? He knew what he?d do if he still had his eyes, but what could he do now?

"Your blindness does not limit you Obi-Wan, you limit yourself," Qui-Gon?s words came back to him. Was he limiting himself? A shot whizzed past their heads. Their attackers had found them.

Qui-Gon ran towards the house. His pace swiftened when he saw the distinct flashes of blaster fire ahead of him.

Sheena scrambled through the trees, her heart in her throat. Brun had shot the guard who had been unfortunate enough to interrupt him and now he was after her. A hot blast shattered the tree limb above her head. The line of trees was thin and the protection scanty. Sheena realized she was not going to make it. The blaster fell silent. She peeked cautiously out of the trees to see where Brun was and found herself staring down the barrel of his weapon.

There was a flash of fire and Sheena fell back, expecting to feel the bolt blow her head off, but instead, she found herself falling backward onto the ground, her heart thumping, but completely unharmed. A moment later her reeling brain realized that it had not been the orange/white flare of a blaster bolt, but a flash of intense green fire that sliced down on the black barrel of the weapon, cutting it to pieces and knocking it to the ground. Sheena looked up and saw the man that Obi-Wan called Master holding a glowing green light-sword in his right hand.

Brun jumped back with an oath. After that, everything unfolded rather quickly. Before Sheena even had a chance to draw, much less catch, her breath somewhere near six or seven soldiers appeared. Drawn by the sounds of the fire-fight ensuing outside they spilled out of the house like ants rushing out of an ant hill when a child pokes it with a stick. Quickly taking in the situation they immediately reacted by opening fire on Qui-Gon.

Verjl returned fire from around the edge of the ramp, but they couldn?t hold the position for long.

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. It was strange to hear the familiar hum of the blade but not see its blue/white light. "You have the clearance codes for any of these ships, right?" Obi-Wan asked Verjl over the roar of the gunfire.

Oh yeah, two awesome posts! Thank you!
I'm so glad they got this forum working again, cause try as a might, I couldn't find this story anywhere else. I did find a few of Cassia's others though, but I had already read them all. Ugh.
So lets have some more!

Another great post and I agree, I'm so glad this site's back. During the outage I stumbled over the completed version of this story somewhere but don't remember where. I choose not to read it as I've learned to enjoy it here, but boy that was not easy.

I agree: very cool to have the whole story, but then you can't relate to the jaw-clenching, edge-of-your-seat cliffhangers, like this one...
*********************************
Qui-Gon jumped to put himself between Sheena and the attacking guards, parrying their shots with trained efficiency. Wielding his saber one-handed was awkward, but his right arm was the only one that had near enough alacrity and movement to attempt it. The cast on his left held it basically immobile from the shoulder down.

Sheena watched the scene before her unfold in a kind of unreal slow motion. The big Jedi returned every shot sent at them, sending them flying back into the midst of the soldiers, scattering them like chaff on a windy day. Suddenly she saw Brun pull a concealed blaster from under his jacket and aim it at Qui-Gon?s back.

Before Sheena?s lips could form a warning or her mind could even tell it to do so Brun pulled the trigger.

Qui-Gon whirled around at the last instant, turning and blocking the shot in one graceful movement. Brun moved sideways at the same moment, inadvertently moving into the path of the reflected shot. His own bolt caught the young man in the chest, throwing him backward. He was dead by the time he hit the ground.

Sheena felt the big Jedi?s good hand close around hers, jerking her out of her shock and pulling her urgently to her feet.

Qui-Gon?s brow was creased in concern and his blue eyes were steeped in anxiousness. By the sound of it, a fight was going on down by the hangar, and Qui-Gon could hear Obi-Wan calling out to him for help. "Stay with me," he ordered Sheena, starting back towards the landing field at a dead run.

Verjl held his breath as he scanned his pass card through. The first time he put it through too fast and the light flashed red. Trying to steady his hand and slow his heart, he let the computer scan it again. This time, the door swished open. Looking around he saw that Obi-Wan was still standing in the doorway, but falling slowly back under the sheer volume of the attack. Hurrying to the cockpit he started the engine warming cycle. It would take five minutes for the cold engines to be ready for lift off. Five minutes they did not have.

Obi-Wan danced backward, saber spinning. There was a sudden lull in the firing and Obi-Wan?s senses perked up, scanning intently for the cause. The silence was more unnerving than the attack. What was happening? Where were they? A trickle of terror tried to run through him, but he banished it firmly. He didn?t need to see to know what was happening, he could feel...

Bringing his saber up he jumped to the left, evading a shot that came from behind, and above him. Some of the attackers had made it up into the service catwalks that ran across the ceiling of the hanger. He could feel more of them coming from the rear of the building. Meanwhile, the rest of the soldiers had resumed their forward charge on the hangar door. Obi-Wan was caught between the two ground forces on both sides and the snipers in the catwalks above. The situation was not good.

Trying to fight two fronts at once, he deflected both the oncoming shots and the one?s from above.

"Why don?t the soldiers behind us open fire?" he wondered. He could feel them there, but they had not yet... "Administrator!" Obi-Wan shouted urgently as the realization hit him. "Seal the doors! They?re trying to sneak up on you!"

Verjl saw them a moment later, swarming towards him openly now that their cover was blown. For a brief instant he hesitated, fearing that if he sealed the doors, he sealed Obi-Wan?s fate with them. No matter how good Obi-Wan was, the ex-Administrator doubted that there was anyway the boy could escape this trap alive. Verjl set his jaw grimly and keyed the doors shut, keeping the guards out, and trapping Obi-Wan out with them. The young Jedi knew what he was doing, the Driosnian told himself. He knew as well as Verjl did just how long he could expect to last out there.

The soldiers pounded on the hatch, attempting to blast it open with their hand weapons. However, the bolts w

Qui-Gon?s saber flashed so fast it left trails of light before Sheena?s eyes. The soldiers had them pinned down in a clump of trees halfway between the hanger and the house. Qui-Gon defended Sheena and himself while trying to figure out a way to break out of the gridlock. He knew that Obi-Wan and the Administrator were in trouble and chafed every instant he was detained here. His right arm ached dully and he was constantly compensating for the motion he did not have.

"Where are you Master?" he heard desperation in Obi-Wan?s voice. Yet despite whatever dire circumstances the Padawan was undoubtedly in, Qui-Gon was pleased to feel a certain amount of calm surety in his apprentice. Qui-Gon did not know what was happening, but he guessed that Obi-Wan was no longer letting his blindness hold him back. That was good.

A few moments later however, Qui-Gon felt a surprised jolt that traveled clear up his spine and a shock of intense pain. Obi-Wan!

Sheena saw Qui-Gon stiffen visibly. "What, what is it?"

"Time to get to the hanger," Qui-Gon said in a clipped, concerned tone of voice, once more seeking a way to break away from this impasse. "I have a feeling that Obi-Wan and Administrator Owskar need our help."

Obi-Wan hit the ground hard and managed to roll beneath the ship. His side was aflame and the pain stole his already short breath, making him struggle for oxygen. For a moment he just lay on his back beneath the low belly of the ship, his head spinning unmercifully. Probing the injured area he found that the shot had not gone deep. The worst of it had probably missed him and he had only caught the edge of the bolt. He was fortunate actually. He had an incredibly nasty 3rd degree burn slashing across his left side from his chest, down his ribs to his low back, but that was all.

"All," Obi-Wan thought sarcastically. It was definitely enough. On top of his other injuries and with his blindness, the pain was nearly incapacitating. He heard the sound of the soldiers? feet. They were coming. They would find him here and they would kill him. He had to move. He had to.

Gritting his teeth Obi-Wan managed to roll out from the other side of the ship. His side screamed at him as he scraped it against the hard floor. The inner side of his left arm was burned as well he realized with a wince as he pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. It wasn?t as bad an injury as his side, but it stung when he tried to use it. The shot must have passed right under his armpit. Obi-Wan shuddered. A little higher and it would have killed him; a little lower and it would have taken off his forearm.

Forcing himself back to the moment Obi-Wan dodged around the next two ships, seeking to regain the distance between himself and the soldiers which he had lost. Pain was threatening to cloud his perceptions again, and he nearly ran into the wall before he sensed it. The blind Jedi felt along it, but a quick inspection left no doubt. He had reached the back wall of the hanger. Going left led him straight to another wall, and going right would mean having to cross the entire open expanse of space that separated the right side of the hanger from the left side. In the shape he was now in, he was not about to try that again. The soldiers were closing in, and he was trapped.

Obi-Wan leaned against the wall, trying to still his hammering heart. He had reached the end of his rope and found himself left dangling.
*********************************
Comments?